United goes for a real rarity: a championship in Atlanta

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FILE - In this Oct. 28, 1995, file photo, the Atlanta Braves celebrate after Game 6 of the baseball World Series in Atlanta. The Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians 1-0 to win the series. When Atlanta United reached Saturday's MLS Cup final, the soccer team moved to the cusp of a truly rare accomplishment. There hasn't been a big league champion in this city since the Braves' title. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)

Even taking into account minor leagues and fringe sports, only four teams have claimed titles since Atlanta became a big league city with the arrival of the Braves from Milwaukee in 1966 (followed a few months later by the Falcons, an NFL expansion team).

United goalkeeper Brad Guzan said the team is aware of Atlanta's long history of sporting heartache and what a title would mean to the entire state.

"We know about it. We hear about it," he said on the eve of the championship game against Portland. The MLS Cup "is not just for us as a team, as a club, as an organization. It's for the city of Atlanta. It's for the state of Georgia. We know we've got a couple of bigger causes."

A recap of the city's pro sports heartache:

BASEBALL

Before the Braves moved south, the minor league Atlanta Crackers won numerous pennants and league titles, earning the nickname "Yankees of the Minors."

The Braves are known for their postseason failures.

The lone World Series title came during an unprecedented run of 14 straight division titles. Atlanta lost four times in the World Series — most notably, in 1991 with a 1-0, 10-inning defeat to the Minnesota Twins in Game 7, and in 1996 to the New York Yankees when they blew a 6-0 lead at home with a chance to take a commanding series lead.

The Braves are currently mired in a streak of nine straight postseason series losses.

Beyond the big leagues, a Triple-A team in suburban Gwinnett County lost in its only finals appearance in 2016.

Perhaps it was more fitting that the Chiefs lost in their only other trip to the finals, falling 2-0 at home to the Dallas Tornado in the deciding game of a best-of-three series in 1971.

The Chiefs lasted a total of 10 seasons with two different franchises, going out of business for good after the 1981 season.

In between the Chiefs and United's launch in 2017, Atlanta had teams in several lesser-known men's leagues — with very familiar results. The Ruckus lost in the 1995 A-League final. The Silverbacks were beaten in the title game of both the USL First Division (2007) and a revived version of the North American Soccer League (2013).

And let's not forget: the Atlanta Beat lost twice in the championship game of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).

The league lasted only three seasons.

OTHER SPORTS

Since titles are so hard to come by in Atlanta, we'll mention the city's indoor lacrosse team.

The Georgia Swarm won the 2017 National Lacrosse League title with a 2-0 sweep of Saskatchewan.